


new liver, same eagles

by andthentheybow



Series: icarus is bullshit, that's why it's called mythology [3]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mythology References, Protective Toby Smith | Tubbo, Toby Smith | Tubbo Angst, Toby Smith | Tubbo-centric, implied/referenced suicidal ideation, no beta we die like stupid block men, yall are spelling tubbo wrong its actually main character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthentheybow/pseuds/andthentheybow
Summary: in this world of gods and titans and heroes and sinners, tubbo is prometheus, who only wanted to help and is now doomed to be torn apart from the inside forevermore.and he’s fucking sick of it.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Eret & Niki | Nihachu & Toby Smith | Tubbo, No Romantic Relationship(s), Toby Smith | Tubbo & Phil Watson, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Series: icarus is bullshit, that's why it's called mythology [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057166
Comments: 41
Kudos: 308





	new liver, same eagles

**Author's Note:**

> don't be creepy about content creators, this is my interpretation of their personas, if they're uncomfortable it'll be taken down, etc etc

tubbo is fed up with everything that is going on.

all he wanted was to  _ help _ . he wanted to help his friends, he wanted to help l’manberg, he was willing to give them everything that he had and he was prepared to go down with them, for them. of course, in this world, things never work out the way you want them to. no matter what he does to help, there is always a price.

he is prometheus and he is staring at zeus. he has given the mortals fire and zeus is unhappy.

“exile him,” zeus says.

“no,” prometheus replies.

“do it,” zeus says, and he does it.

it’s as much a punishment for him as it is for tommy. he may not be chained down and having his liver pecked out by eagles repeatedly, but it’s still tearing his insides apart. he hurts so much he thinks it will kill him, and he’s not even exiled.

he finds the tower. he finds out dream has been lying to all of them. he finds out, he finds out, he finds out.

there are no good guys, not in this world. he knows this. dream knows this. but that doesn’t mean dream needs to be a complete  _ dick _ about everything.

he goes to dream under the guise of a diplomatic meeting. relations between the smp and l’manberg have been strained, despite tommy’s exile, and all sides have been looking to try and strengthen that relationship. mostly for the sake of their people, because of the split of the dream team and the formation of el rapids and everything else that’s going on.

(not that the people want it, necessarily- quackity and fundy mutter about how they want dream taken down. sapnap and george can’t even be in the same room as him. tubbo and eret and niki meet in the dead of night, their sibling-like relationship unhindered by the fact that they’re all on different sides, and they talk about how everything has gone to shit. eret says that dream will go to war again. niki grips her sword tighter. tubbo isn’t afraid.)

they have the meeting in l’manberg. fundy and quackity are behind him. ranboo is leading dream in. and tubbo slams his fist down onto the table and wants to scream at dream, but he doesn’t, because he is the president. he is the representative of the people, and he will keep his cool.

“logstedshire has been exploded,” tubbo snarls. “there is a tower into the sky and i said surely not, surely,  _ surely _ , tommy did not throw himself off of it. and if my best friend killed himself because of you-”

and the thing is:

the thing is tubbo  _ knows _ . tubbo knows that tommy would not do that, not even at his most desperate, because that’s not who tommy is. tommy is a fighter, tommy will beat his wings until they break, and he will not break them himself. tubbo knows that tommy will not do it. he just needs to hear dream say it. he just needs to hear dream lie to his face and tell him that tommy is dead and it isn’t dream’s fault.

and dream-

does.

and tubbo’s gaze hardens, prometheus staring down zeus, the mortal-loving titan and the king of the gods, and his fist hits the table again and he tells dream to get out.

quackity and fundy want to go after dream and kill him. they want to go after techno and destroy him. and tubbo will not let them do it. he tells them if they do it, they’ll be disobeying his direct orders, and they do it. they go after techno and techno fucking annihilates them, of course he does, he’s technoblade. and after quackity and fundy get back they tell him about the signs of a third person living with philza and techno and tubbo leaves.

he is atalanta, running a race, knowing damn well that nobody will catch him, that no golden apple will distract him. the only golden apple is the promise of seeing his best friend again.

tommy and techno are not there when he arrives. theseus is not home. icarus is not on the ground. atlas is off doing something else. there is only philza, the father, glaring at him.

“i’m cutting off relations with the smp,” tubbo says, swallowing harshly. he is prometheus and his insides are being torn apart and it can all be rooted back to dream, it is dream’s fault. it is still dream’s fault, it has always been dream’s fault, and the situation may be different but it still hurts. new liver, same eagles.

“what?” phil asks.

“i know tommy is alive, and everyone else thinks that he’s dead. i know that you and techno took him in, as you fucking should, and i know wilbur is helping him, and i know-” he stops, takes a breath. “i know that you probably don’t trust me, and i don’t expect you to. i know that tommy probably doesn’t want to see me, and i don’t expect him to. but please, just tell him- tell him i’m sorry, and that i’m trying to make things right.”

and he leaves.

he has always been the fourth son, the forgotten one, found in a box on the side of the road and taken in because phil couldn’t just leave him there. wilbur blew up his nation and techno blew up  _ him _ . the four of them- they are the family, they are the ones that stick together, and tubbo will always be on the outside of that. at least, that’s his opinion on the situation.

but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to try to keep them happy. he will do anything for his family, his people, and he knows that they want tommy back. so they’ll get tommy back.

he knows, from the second he sees the tower, what tommy is thinking. tommy is icarus, flying toward the sun, trying to get home. and tubbo is home, tubbo is helios, titan of the sun, tubbo is what tommy is flying toward. tommy will hit the ground and he will  _ live _ , and tubbo will watch from the sky.

he is fucking sick of watching from the sky and not being able to do anything. he’s going to do something about it.

he and quackity and george sit down around a table and make a deal. if l’manberg cuts off trade deals with the smp, so will el rapids. the two nations, born of war, will stick together. together they are athens and they will not fall to rome.

l’manberg is not his symphony. but right now, he’s the only one there to play it.

and play it he will. he will play this symphony fucking spectacularly. he publicly announces that tommy is no longer exiled and is welcome to return to the nation if he so chooses. he announces that while techno isn’t necessarily welcome in the city, he’s no longer wanted. he states, plainly and clearly, that they will not be bullied by dream any more.

at the same time, sapnap and george meet with dream and tell him that they’re done. they’re done being used. together they are heracles and they are no longer going to fight dream’s wars for him.

and tubbo is prometheus, and dream arrives in a fury of green and white with his diamond axe drawn and threatens to take tubbo’s last life, here and now.

“then  _ do it _ ,” tubbo snarls.

and dream-

doesn’t.

and tubbo smiles, because it’s the same liver, now, and the eagles are coming for him and they’re not going to do fucking anything. he’s found a way to unchain himself, and he’s never going to let zeus chain him up again.

and later, theseus comes home. he returns to athens and they celebrate their hero. phil and techno remain on the outskirts, but they’re there. they’re there to see tubbo and tommy holding back tears as they embrace, icarus and helios reunited at last, both muttering apologies to each other that are dimmed by the roar of the crowd around them.

tubbo is prometheus, and he has a new liver. the eagles have been beaten back.

(for now. actions have consequences, and he’s sure his will come back for him soon. but for now, he and tommy are together, and they will play l’manberg’s music as loud as they can.)

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on twitter/tumblr if you want @andthentheybow
> 
> comments/kudos/etc fuel the dragon living in my brain rent-free that makes me write


End file.
